Comilla Sasson, MD, shares her experience on the front lines of COVID-19 with CNN

Comilla Sasson, MD, an emergency medicine physician with Colorado Permanente Medical Group, recently shared her first-hand experience working at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic in an op-ed and interview with CNN.

Since the pandemic started, Dr. Sasson has cared for thousands of COVID-19 patients across 8 states. She has also seen a wide range of individuals impacted by the spread of coronavirus.

“I have treated the rich, poor, white, Black, immigrants, Native Americans, BIPOCs [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color], anyone and everyone who needs care,” said Dr. Sasson, who also serves as vice president for Science and Innovation, Emergency Cardiovascular Care at the American Heart Association.

Dr. Sasson currently practices in the intensive care unit at Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center in Southern California — a community that has been hit hard by the pandemic. She noted that Ontario and other locations have converted areas of hospitals into ICU beds to adjust capacity for the influx of patients.

She added that we are in the midst of a “sustained mass casualty event” and she will “fight on” as the nation continues to address fallout from COVID-19.

“I will wake up and leave my husband and young children again,” Dr. Sasson said. “I’ll risk my life to help save yours. And I will because I feel compelled to do it.”

With the country now more than a year into the pandemic, Dr. Sasson urged everyone to continue exercising caution as a potential end comes into focus.

“But I have to know — and other front-line workers like me — that you are in this fight with us,” said Dr. Sasson. “Wearing your mask. Getting your vaccine. Doing your part. Because every person’s actions matter if we’re going to win this fight.”

Note: Read the full article and watch the interview on CNN.com.